Chapter 181: She Said Her Name Is Minamoto-no-Raikou
"Noah, those individuals you've had me keep an eye on are indeed behaving as you predicted. Recently, perhaps sensing a decrease in surveillance, they've started gathering together more frequently. It seems they truly have some intentions."
"Hmm..."
Mary's voice echoed in Noah's mind. Lying on the sofa, Noah basked in the sunlight and nodded.
On the desk, a small white beast could be seen clutching a specially crafted Alchemy pen, diligently processing stacks of documents one by one.
Once the current pile of documents was nearly finished, the little beast transformed by Mary glanced at the second stack beside her—taller than herself—and turned her gaze directly toward Noah.
"It's time. Your turn now..."
Hearing Mary's words, Noah reluctantly rose from the sofa, returned to his seat, yawned, picked up his pen, and began tackling the second stack of documents.
Meanwhile, Mary, transformed into Fou, climbed onto his head and watched him "213" process the files.
This was their prior arrangement.
Noah for three hours, Mary for three hours—a clear division of labor.
At this thought, Mary couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Before the Distortion sent her here, she was nothing like this. Back when she was assisting that King Arthur, she was utterly carefree. If King Arthur came looking for her, she'd casually make up an excuse to send him off. Even if she forgot the excuse when he asked, it didn't matter—she could just muddle through with some random reason, and that fool would believe it.
He might even believe it a little if you insisted strongly enough that he had the wrong person.
That was just the kind of person he was.
In her original world, Mary slacked off even more thoroughly than the current Merlin! Though she could never be as annoyingly troublesome as Merlin... Well, at least that's what she believed.
But after arriving here, she truly felt she had changed completely.
Perhaps it was due to the affection the Distortion brought from Manaka Sajyou, or maybe it was that very affection helping her understand the concept of love, which in turn sparked other thoughts within her. Regardless, she had not only changed but also grown somewhat reluctant to let Noah see her original self.
Otherwise...
Though she was confident in herself and never thought she could be disliked, what if... Noah ended up disliking her because of it?
Mary didn't know why she had started caring about such things, but she simply didn't want that to happen.
So.
She proactively pushed herself to change even more.
Just like now.
With this thought, Mary, perched on Noah's head, relied on Fou's Incarnation to lightly inhale Noah's scent—clean and warm like sunlight. Even in her small beast form, she felt herself growing intoxicated by this sunlight.
If only time could stand still forever at this moment.
Yes.
At least for now, Mary had no further ambitions. For her, maintaining the status quo was the greatest happiness.
Noah had been having Mary keep an eye on some Roman officials using her Clairvoyance.
Although Noah had already filtered out a large number of officials during the public trials of the Roman nobility, he had left the remaining ones untouched.
If those who managed to survive the public trials continued to show no unusual behavior, Noah likely would have left them alone indefinitely.
His approach to dealing with them at that time would have been—to let them live out their natural lives.
If they performed great deeds, it wouldn't be impossible for Noah to grant them blessings related to longevity.
But now, it seemed these individuals still couldn't read the situation clearly.
However, regarding these people, there was one thing Noah remained deeply curious about to this day.
What exactly was their reliance?
It must be understood that Noah's legitimacy as Roman Emperor was multifaceted: in terms of faith, he was crowned by the gods; in terms of the people, he enjoyed widespread support after the public trials; and in terms of military strength, not to mention himself, his knights were powerful and well-equipped, blessed with Divine Era Blessings, with the Enforcement Knights stationed right in Rome...
Moreover, he had been willingly succeeded by the previous emperor, Lucius.
That monkey was probably living quite happily in the mercenary world as the Saint of the Battlefield now. Even Marcus had gone along with her madness, and Cú Chulainn, avoiding Scáthach, had joined them there as well. The three of them had even formed a mercenary group.
Thus, the question arose...
Without these as their backing, what exactly did these officials plan to do?
They couldn't stage an armed rebellion, lacked popular support, and didn't even have a candidate emperor to prop up... Under such circumstances, where did their rebellious intentions come from?
This was what Noah found most curious.
His question didn't stem from a condescending mindset, but rather from the thought that if there truly was something he had overlooked, he wouldn't miss such an issue again next time.
So while having Mary monitor them, Noah was also waiting.
Waiting to see what these officials intended to do once they united.
Noah still didn't know the answer to this question, but if he ever found out, his expectations for these officials would likely vanish entirely.
After all, although these officials appeared to have no reliance in Noah's eyes as they gathered together, they actually did have one.
That was...
"The Adjutant Officer wasn't captured. I didn't see the Adjutant Officer during the public executions. Back when Rome was growing weaker, the Adjutant Officer, who single-handedly reversed Rome's situation, wasn't publicly executed, nor was he... captured by that one..."
When this official spoke the first half of his sentence, his voice carried strength. But when mentioning Noah, even though the place was secret and filled with allies, he instinctively lowered his voice, struggling for a long time before finally not daring to utter Noah's name directly...
No one mocked him for this.
Because the others... didn't dare either!
If not for their cowardice, if even one among them had been brave enough to utter Noah's name during such discussions, Manaka would have instantly known exactly what they were talking about.
"Yes, the Adjutant Officer is still with us—he is our last hope for Rome!"
"We must hold on now. Relying solely on ourselves, we can achieve nothing. All we need to do is fulfill our current duties until the Adjutant Officer returns. That will be the perfect moment for us to truly exert our strength!"
Indeed.
The pillar they leaned upon had been overlooked by Noah.
Because the one they relied on was none other than Manaka Sajyou!
In their eyes, Manaka Sajyou was likely a middle-aged man in his thirties—the Adjutant Officer, the great figure who had single-handedly lifted Rome from its lowest point!
So now, they probably believed that as long as they persevered and waited for the Adjutant Officer's return, there would still be a chance.
They believed persistence would lead to victory.
And in truth, if their goal was simply to wait for Manaka Sajyou, then their persistence was indeed meaningful.
Because at this very moment, Manaka Sajyou was hiding within her hastily constructed Magical Workshop, gazing at the Holy Grail before her, which emitted a golden, dust-like radiance. A smile spread across her face.
"It's complete. Although I don't know why the mastermind behind the City of the Huns in the sky suddenly halted their actions, fortunately, I had other contingencies prepared."
"If I use this Holy Grail and Excalibur together as my offering, that should be sufficient in weight."
Thinking this, the smile on Manaka's face grew even more pronounced, her cheeks flushing slightly.
"Then I can become that great one's Adjutant Officer~"
Holding this thought, after briefly composing herself and restoring her usual demeanor of composure, elegance, and nobility, she once again donned the black cloak she had worn throughout her tenure as Rome's Adjutant Officer. She stored away the Holy Grail, left her hiding place, and began walking toward Rome City.
She knew Noah was in Rome City.
And so.
————She came bearing her offering!